Educational Science

Huge eruption of Italian volcano sends ash hundreds of feet into the air

An explosion on the slopes of Stromboli sent an avalanche of pyroclastic flow rushing down the side of the Italian volcano on Monday (Nov. 16). The stronger-than-usual explosion was captured on cameras operated by the Istituto Nazionale Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV). Imagery shared by Il Mondo dei Terremoti on Twitter...

Planned satellite constellation poses a collision threat, NASA says: Reports

NASA has voiced substantial concerns about a planned constellation of broadband satellites, saying the commercial spacecraft would increase the risk of collisions in an important slice of Earth orbit. On Oct. 30, NASA submitted an official comment letter to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding a request by Texas-based...

Two neutron stars slammed together far away from Earth. The energy of their collision lit up their corner of the sky with a brief flash of gamma radiation, followed by a softer, longer-lasting glow across the electromagnetic spectrum. Peering into that fading light, researchers spotted an unusual infrared signal —...

Ancient burial of fierce female hunter (and her weapons) discovered in Peru

Silently moving in the wilderness of the Andes mountains, ancient hunter-gatherers stalked a herd of vicuña. The hunters threw stone projectile points with ease, hitting some of the beasts and leading the rest to scatter. The vicuñas, wild ancestors of alpacas, fell and the skilled hunters — both females and...

US tops 10 million coronavirus cases

The United States reached an astonishing milestone today (Nov. 9): 10 million total coronavirus cases have been diagnosed since the start of the pandemic, with case counts accelerating dramatically in recent weeks. The country's total now stands at just over 10 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. It took just...

Mars: Mounting evidence for subglacial lakes, but could they really host life?

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences, The Open University Venus may harbour life some 50km above its surface, we learned a couple of weeks ago. Now a new paper, published...

Watch a bright fireball explode over the Tasman Sea (video)

A bright green meteor streaked across the southern coast of Tasmania, Australia, and researchers caught the fireball on camera as it broke up over the ocean. The meteor lit up the night sky on Wednesday (Nov. 18) at 9:21 p.m. local Tasmanian time (5:21 a.m. EST and 1021 GMT). A...

Are you genetically more similar to your mom or your dad?

He's the spitting image of his dad! Or: She's her mom's clone — except for the nose. Clearly from her father's side of the family. As we watch kids grow up, we tend to look for likenesses between them and their parents. So which parent contributes more genetically? The answer...

Woman's stomach pain turns out to be rare case of 'wandering spleen'

A woman who went to the emergency department with abdominal pain soon learned the source of her discomfort: Her spleen had shifted about a foot out of place, according to a new report of the case. This rare condition, known as wandering spleen, occurs when ligaments that normally hold the...

The true story behind Princess Diana's fairytale wedding in 'The Crown'

On July 29, 1981, Lady Diana Spencer walked down the aisle of Westminster Abbey, London, leading her wedding dress' enormous train past 3,500 guests, including nobility, world dignitaries and royalty. Waiting for her at the altar was Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, eldest son and heir to Queen Elizabeth II....